


Helping Hand

by j520j



Category: The Council - Fandom
Genre: Angst and Feels, Enemies to Friends, Friendship, Gen, Minor canon divergence, Possibly Pre-Slash, episode 3 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-16 23:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15447813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j520j/pseuds/j520j
Summary: A guilty conscience is too heavy to carry without a helping hand.





	Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Someone has to be the first to write a fic about this amazing game, right? :)
> 
> P.S. 1: Spoilers from Episode 3
> 
> P.S. 2: Sorry about my grammar atrocities!

The sedative drugs were strong. They could make a big wild animal sleep for days. Jacques Peru received a dose so strong that he could be cremated without waking up. Or at least that's what Lord Mortimer believed.  
  
Jacques was already accustomed to taking sedatives. In fact, he could not sleep without them.  
  
_I did horrible things!_ it was the first thought that invaded his mind every night. _I've killed hundreds, thousands of people. Some deserved their fate, others ... ugh!_  
  
Every night one of the greatest executioners of the French Revolution became his own judge. And every night he condemned himself as guilty and applied the sentence: the end of his peace of mind, his vitality, his joy. The end of your chances of being reunited, in peace, with his family.  
  
The end of his quiet nights sleep.  
  
The initial effect of the sedative had passed. Though he couldn't move, Jacques was awake. Lying on his bed, alone in his room ... no, he wasn't alone. One of those damned servants, with masks on his face, was watching him. The man seemed distracted, busier in removing the dust from the shelves than keeping an eye on him. It certainly did not occur to the servent that Peru might wake up so soon.  
  
With difficulty, the Frenchman sighed. It was difficult to make this simple move, for his entire body was incredibly heavy. Although he had already regained consciousness, his body was still under the devastating effect of the sedative administered to him.  
  
_Merde! Prisoner ... again! And this time I cannot even get out of bed!_  
  
Jacques might have put an end to everything a few hours ago. He could have taken his right to supreme freedom: death. He could have got rid of everything: guilt, nightmares, sadness, miserable life. But someone stopped him.  
  
_Damn De Richet, that nosy man!_  
  
Knocking on the bedroom door made the masked employee stop dusting the furniture and heading for the door. He opened it only a bit and said, in his stupid effeminate voice:  
  
"I'm sorry, Monsieur De Richet, but Monsieur Peru is resting now."  
  
"Please, let me see him!" it was Louis's voice. And he sounded afflicted. "I'm really worried about him!"  
  
"There's no need to worry, sir. We're taking care of him the best we can, and besides, he's asleep, he cannot hear anything ..."  
  
"Uuugrrcccch!" a heavy gargle was the only sound that Peru could emit. Even the muscles in his throat seemed inert.  
  
"Monsieur Peru!" exclaimed De Richet, pushing the door violently. The lad was much stronger than he appeared (and Jacques discovered this the harddest way in the night he arrived on the island.)  
  
"Ah! Sir!" the servent tried, in vain, to hold him. "You cannot...!"  
  
"Get away for me!" Louis push the man hard and his mask almost fell. "If this is what you call 'taking care' so you're the worst valet I ever met! Not even the correct amount of drugs you know how to administrate! Monsieur Peru is in pain! And he's very awaken!"  
  
"Oh, I... I could swear the prescribed dose would be enough to ...!"  
  
"Out! Now! And tell Lord Mortimer that I'm staying here with him. And if he has any problems with it, come and talk to me in person!"  
  
Not knowing what to do, the employee just left.  
  
Jacques still could not move right. Louis helped him sit up in bed with a little difficulty. Cold sweat oozed from his face and his breathing was heavy.  
  
"Stay calm! I'll get you an invigorating drink!"  
  
_Imbécile..._ Peru thought as he struggled to sit on the bed. He had the feeling that his body was going to fall apart at any moment.  
  
Louis returned with a glass and a bottle of drink. By the golden color, it should be a kind of mead. The smell of the drink was great and just the sweety scent made Peru to feel better. Rather awkwardly, he held the cup and nearly knocked it over.  
  
"Woa, calm down!" De Richet said with a friendly smile. "Here. I hold it for you."  
  
It was ridiculous to be taken care as a toddler who couldn't even hold a glass right, but Jacques had no choice. Slowly the drink began to take effect, cutting off the terrible numbness he felt throughout his body, and soon the executioner began to feel his vitality returning.

"Always snooping where you're not... !" murmured Peru, his voice still weak. "Why are you like this?"

"Is it so strange for a man to take care of his friends?"

"Friends?!" Jacques laughed. "The first time we met I almost hit your face, and on the second time I was about to execute you when you were accused of being involved in the murder of Elisabeth Adams, and the third ..."

"The third time." Louis interrupted him. "You saved me."

"I didn't save you."

"Yes, you saved me." the young man smiled and put his arm over Peru's weary shoulders. "I could have stayed for hours, maybe days stuck in that goddamn secret room. Lord Mortimer might have found me there, and if he knew what he might have done to me there? I told you I owed you one, remember?"

"Heh ... if I knew you were going to reciprocate by keeping me from committing suicide... I should have left you there."

"You should not throw your life away like this."  
  
"I did horrible things."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Lord Mortimer is a demon!"  
  
"I know."  
  
Peru looked at Louis with some curiosity.  
  
"So ... you know everything already?"  
  
"Not everything, but I know a lot."  
  
"So ... why you haven't run away?! Why are you still here?!" Jacques began to feel stronger, the anger giving him fuel even to grab De Richet by the shoulders and shake him. "You should leave this place while you still have a chance! Don't stay here! Lord Mortimer will engage you in his conversation and you will be his prisoner!"  
  
"Oh, are you worried about me?"  
  
Peru's eyes widened. He shook his head and, letting go of Louis, gave a nasal laugh.  
  
"I misjudged you, boy." the executioner looked at his own hands. "Well, it would not be the first time I've made a bad judgment."  
  
"This is past. We have to focus on the present."  
  
"Don't forget your fucking future. You should leave this place while you still have future."  
  
"Not while there's still a friend on this island who needs my help."  
  
"Heh, you're weird, Monsieur!"  
  
Jacques remembered: three months ago, one of his chambermaids was shocked to see the state of his hands. They were raw from so much that he washed them. But no matter how hard he tried to rub them, they always seemed to carry the scent of blood.  
  
_So many people..._ he thought. _The world would certainly be a better place if I did not exist. The whole world has reasons to hate me._  
  
_Why this stupid kid doesn't hate me?_  
  
A soft hand, which probably never felt the weight of the handwork or even met the rough, bloody handle of an executioning ax, landed gently on a calloused hand that has already done some of the worst jobs humanity has ever invented. It was hard to believe that such a thin hand could be so strong. But it was not just physical strength that Louis had. He also had a lot of mental balance and a strong spirit. And these two things were far superior than muscles.

"Don't worry, Jacques, I'll protect you."

"Don't make promises you cannot keep, Louis."

"I can." De Richet said. His thin face, marked by a scar that ran through his nose (the only feature that gave him a more dangerous look) was full of resolution. "And I will."

Peru believed in many lies in his life. And perhaps now that he was hearing a truth, it was hard to believe it. For the first time in many months, he allowed himself to smile.

"In this case ..." the executioner's hand gently squeezed the detective's hand. "... I accept your protection, Monsieur. And everything else that comes with it."


End file.
